Thursday, November 26, 2015

Over 50
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LBT) women, feminists and heterosexual
allies converged as a community at the 3rd Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity
Conference, from October 5 to 11, 2015. The conference was held at the Kapok
Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

As LBT women
and feminist allies of the Caribbean and Latin America, part of the joy (and
challenge) of participating in the conference was in sharing our experiences
and incredible stories of love, friendship, and ways to build a supportive and
sustainable community that challenges and increases the leadership capabilities
of women - regardless of our sexual orientations and gender identities. At the
same time, we learned how to navigate the social, political, and religious structures
that designed to control women’s sexualities, which is inherently diverse but
often criticised and criminalised due to fear, ignorance, and oppression.

The
discussions were thought-provoking and sometimes deeply emotional, as one
participant recalled her struggle with suicide, anxiety and depression. Others
have overcome similar challenges with lesbophobia, biphobia and transphobia,
while manoeuvring through self-care and acceptance. Our shared bond is that we
continue to strengthen our resolve by advocating for the most vulnerable in our
communities. This is achieved through various actions across the region,
including LGBT-focused research; housing and security for victims of domestic
and gender-based violence; training and information sharing; literacy
programmes for children, or providing a safe space to share each other’s rich
artistry and creativity, as in the case of Afifa Aza, Jamaican Artist, as well
as Founder and Creative Director at SO((U))L.

Friday, November 13, 2015

Last
Friday, October 30, 2015, the Society Against Sexual Orientation
Discrimination (SASOD) and the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) officially
closed the Civil Society Public Policy Advocacy Training Programme,
following two three-day workshops at the Regency Suites Hotel,
Georgetown, over the past two months.

In
providing an overview of the project, Caribbean Public Policy research
and Training Consultant, Deborah Nurse shared that, “the project, which
started eight months ago, commenced with a research phase consisting of
two components. The first component included a data gathering element
designed to be an input into the training phase; it served to ascertain
the policy objectives, existing capacities, needs, challenges and
training/skill needs of GEF member and partner organizations. The
second component was a mapping study, which was designed to document
governmental policy and decision-making processes in Guyana. The
information gleaned from the baseline and mapping studies was used to
design the Civil Society Public Policy Advocacy Training Programme.”The
project was essentially designed to contribute towards the equitable
treatment of all peoples in Guyana by supporting efforts to strengthen
the participation of vulnerable persons and their representative
organisations through SASOD and the GEF in decision-making processes of
the state.

The
entire training programme provided an intensive and focused
introduction to the principles and practices of effective public policy
advocacy. It focused on how to conduct evidence-based advocacy and how
to strategically communicate with decision makers. There was a
practical component to the training, which allowed participants to
conduct ‘strategic inquiry’ – or intelligence gathering - with
politicians and other key decision makers on issues that they were
advocating for. Nurse highlighted that, “there are some very important
and exciting policy issues that participants focused on such as: Key
human rights and equality issues that should be included in the
government’s upcoming Gender Policy; Increasing access to physical,
sexual and mental health services in hinterland communities; Amending
the Prevention of Discrimination Act 1997 to include sexual orientation
and gender identity as grounds for discrimination; and Repealing the
laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing laws, in
Guyana.”

Thursday, November 12, 2015

The
Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is shocked
and saddened by the news of the death of one our leading activists and
former board member, Zenita Temall Nicholson. Zenita joined SASOD in May
2011 as a member and Coordinator of the “Human Rights Education for the
Protection of Sexual and Gender Minorities in Guyana” Project.

Zenita
was passionate about human rights and a fearless defender of the rights
of vulnerable people. She applied this drive and commitment to her
work, delivering exceptional results at SASOD to raise awareness and
strengthen advocacy for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
people. Due to her dedication and hard work, she became Secretary on the
SASOD Board of Trustees in September 2012 – a volunteer position which
she held for two years, until September 2014.Zenita remained a member of SASOD and represented the organisation at the 45th
Regular Session of the Organisation of American States General Assembly
as recently as June of this year in Washington, D.C. Zenita was
recognized for her outstanding leadership and courage by the United
States Embassy in Georgetown in March 2014 when Charge d’ Affaires Bryan
Hunt presented her with their first International Woman of Courage
Award. The citation reads: “In recognition of your exceptional courage
and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment and
raising public awareness to protect the human rights of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual and Transgender persons.”

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

On
Wednesday, October 21, 2015, the USAID – Advancing Partners and
Communities (APC) Guyana Project and the Society Against Sexual
Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted the second in its series of
"Lunch Talks" at the APC office in Oleander Avenue, Bel Air Park,
Georgetown. This “Lunch Talk” sought to examine the Concluding
Observations from the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (CESCR) on Guyana’s recent review on September 28 - 29, 2015.

The
Concluding Observations after Guyana’s recent review on September 28
and 29 were released on October 9, 2015. The Concluding Observations
contain the collective assessment of the state's record and
recommendations for enhanced implementation of the rights under the
International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

At
the “Lunch Talk”, a team from SASOD including of Managing Director,
Joel Simpson; Advocacy and Communications Officer, Schemel Patrick and
SASOD Volunteers, Monica Brinn and Chase Gorishek, shared a summary of
the SASOD’s Stakeholder Report accentuating pertinent topics that were
highlighted by the Committee in its Comcluding Observations to the
Government of Guyana. The discussion around the table interrogated the
Concluding Observations and outlined a clear roadmap of how the
Government of Guyana can meet its treaty obligations to fulfil the
economic, social and cultural rights of all Guyanese.

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

On
Wednesday, October 7, 2015, the Society Against Sexual Orientation
Discrimination (SASOD) held a media briefing at the Guyana Marriott
Hotel Georgetown to discuss Guyana’s recent review under the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
that was held in Geneva on September 28 – 29, 2015 during the 56th
Session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR)
and to share a synopsis of the Stakeholders Report on the Protection of
the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI)
Persons in Guyana which SASOD submitted to CESCR on August 30,
2015,ahead of the country review.

Speaking
at the media briefing were SASOD’s Managing Director, Joel Simspon, and
Advocacy and Communication’s Officer, Schemel Patrick, and the UNAIDS
Country Coordinator, Dr. Martin Odiit.

In
his opening remarks, Simpson provided a brief background on how the
CESCR works. He noted that the Guyana signed ICESCR in 1968 and ratified
it in 1977. Simpson lamented that Guyana had failed to meet its treaty
obligation to report to CESCR every 5 years and charged the APNU+AFC
Government to improve the abysmal treaty-body reporting record of the
previous administration.

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About SASOD

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is a human rights organisation and movement dedicated to achieving equality and justice for all Guyanese, especially those suffering discrimination based on their sexuality, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. We support similar work in Latin America and the Caribbean, Americas, Commonwealth, Global South and worldwide.